London to Oslo

In London we were met by a very energetic lady with a wheelchair for Debby. Deb did explain that she really didn't need it but she was rebuffed. Apparently, Deb's name was on her list and so she simply had to ride. I had to run to keep up. This time, we were glad to have help.

The trip through the airport was very long and would have taken us twice as long without our helper. We had to travel endless corridors and a train before we were anywhere near our point of departure. We were shuffled to the front of every line so waiting was minimal. Still, passing through customs was difficult. For the first time ever, we had to dig through our bags and pull out every little container of liquid (toothpaste, shampoo, makeup, any size). Everything had to be visible in clear plastic bags. Still we were stopped because Deb forgot a bottle of water in her coat pocket.

In the end we were placed in a lounge to wait out our five hour layover. We roamed and we read and munched and we waited.

When it was time, Deb was placed in another wheelchair and delivered to our gate. The ramp to our plane was not working so we had to take an elevator down to the tarmac and climb a long set of stairs to board. We settled into very small seats with no special privileges or services, but this time it was just fine. The whole flight was just a couple of hours.

In Oslo, Deb was again met by a very efficient attendant. We were hustled through the airport. This time we weren't even slowed down at customs. Our helper took us to the Oslo train. He helped us to buy the tickets we needed and he delivered us right to the door of the train we needed. Before we knew it we were in the Oslo Central Train Station (too easy).

Suddenly, we were adrift without anyone to help us. We didn't know how to get to our Air BNB and we didn't have a helper. The tourist information centre was down a long set of stairs. Oh no!

Deb settled down to enjoy a coffee and I wandered off. The pace had suddenly changed and there was no longer any rush. I returned with a map and directions to our new home. Deb meanwhile had been communicating back and forth with Eirik our new host and everything was go.